


The Art of Clumsiness and Cooking

by shootfortherarls



Series: Otp prompts that no one asked for [2]
Category: The Walking Dead (TV)
Genre: AU, Carl thinks Ron's an emotionless asshole, Carl's an exception, Chef Ron, Kitchen assistant Carl, M/M, Ron doesn't usually date people from work, and he gains a lot of respect for him, but he finds out all the responsibilities Ron has, especially a student that's working for him, he also develops a small(big) crush on his boss
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-07-20
Updated: 2016-11-12
Packaged: 2018-07-23 22:23:59
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 8,765
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7482249
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/shootfortherarls/pseuds/shootfortherarls
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"I'm new and at first you seemed super cold and mean but then a friend told me how much responsibility rests on your shoulders and I can't help but admire how serious you are now" </p><p>-shittyaus(tumblr)</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> The one where Carl and Ron are complete opposites but opposites attract.

Carl's only ever had three serious jobs in his nineteen years, by serious, he means keeping his job for at least a month--but he went into college for a culinary degree(at first he wanted to have an English degree but it didn't really work out when he continued to bomb every essay they were assigned) and working as a chef's assistant was just up his alley, he already loved cooking and people complimented his food many times, after enrolling in cooking classes at his nearby community college, it was truly his calling.

Now, that leaves him walking into a moderately busy, restaurant which had taken a while for him to actually get the call that they liked his application and he would need to come in for his first day.

"Shoot, I knew I forgot something," Carl huffs as he pauses near the entrance of the door.

Carl's also had his fair share of clumsy moments--so when he begins to look through his pockets in hope of finding the most important slip the restaurant manager had wanted him to print out for his first day, he bumps into a girl with long brown hair.

"I'm so sorry, shit, are you okay?" Carl questioned grabbing her by the shoulders on instinct.

"I'm fine, it's cool dude," The girl reassures and smiles before rushing off.

Carl continues to walk farther into the restaurant, he passes the hostesses and smiles friendly at their warm grins, at least he doesn't have to worry about rude people here.

He remembers that the manager had told him, in the back of the restuarant, he would need to go past a door that says kitchen and then a few feet away would be the manager's room--where the head chef would be waiting there for him.

When Carl sees the large brown door with white letters saying kitchen, he then spots the door he was supposed to be going to.

Though, walking into the bright office, he doesn't expect to see an attractive young male sitting behind the desk--a black fitted cap on his head, Carl could noticed his longish hair was tied in a bun to the back.

"Hi, I'm uh Carl, Carl Grimes-"

"Yeah, you're late, let's go--since our time is shortened we'll need to rush, if you can't remember the few rules I'm going to tell you while I show you around, then you're not capable of working here, if you can't keep up with me--then you are not capable of working here,"

And yeah Carl was late, but only by two minutes and that was because of his short clumsy episode in the beginning, he tried to make it his duty of always being on time--plus, if this was the head chef that he was going to be assisting he was not looking forward to it, the guy was already an asshole.

"Do you have the slip that Dion told you to bring?" The guy, who has a tired and annoyed look on his beautiful face, questioned Carl in a manner that made Carl want to curl in a ball and ignore the question.

"I kinda forgot it, uh--I remember what it was about though, it was the contract for me having a three week-"

"You have three weeks before you actually get paid, do you agree to that term?" The chef interrupts with a bored expression.

Carl frowns at the second interruption from him, was this guy usually like this?

He looks at the lopsided name tag on the white apron before replying "Yes, Chef Anderson,"

"Call me Chef, let's go Coral,"

Carl nods and opens his mouth to correct him but the man turns around swiftly, and opens the door as he begins to lead Carl out to the kitchen.

"You can find yourself around the restaurant, but you're not going to need to know much about outside of the kitchen," The chef looks at him to make sure he's listening and Carl nods along as he wipes his sweaty palms across the 'special cook pants' which he borrowed from his roommate Noah, so they were a bit baggy.

"Before we walk in, three rules you'll need to know right now are, when you walk behind anyone you call out or you'll most likely bump into someone, second rule, it's crowded--if you are not needed, you stay somewhere where you are out of the way, third, it's my kitchen, you're my assistant, you don't listen to me--you're out of my kitchen," The Chef looks at him sternly and a raised eyebrow.

"Yes, Chef," Carl agrees with a smile.

But the chef simply stays with a stern look as he turns around and pushes open the door to the busy kitchen.

"Hey Ron, who's this?" A blonde hair girl is standing in front of them soon with a greeting smile at both of them.

"Beth, this is Coral--"

"Uh, it's Carl, people accidentally pronounce it Coral sometimes so it's okay," Carl grins as the chef simply nods.

"This is Carl, my assistant. Carl, this is Beth--upcoming, second in command chef, as of right now, I'm the head chef in this kitchen so," Beth punches his arm gently with a laugh.

"Don't worry Carl--you'll be calling me chef soon, this old guy will retire soon anyways," Beth continues to laugh at the glare she receives from Ron.

"Bye Beth," Ron shoos her away and Carl can see that their relationship is close, and he really shouldn't feel jealous that his boss already hates him and he's that close to a person who should be his enemy (or maybe he's jealous because Ron is hot and might be straight and in love with Beth)

"Behind!" Ron shouts as he leads Carl behind the station off three cooks.

"You'll need to do that a lot so make sure you have a lot of 'boom' in your voice," Ron explains looking at Carl quickly.

"This is the peeling station, where you'll be working, here's the peeler, get to work, I'll check back on you in five minutes," The man departs, leaving a star struck Carl.

'Did that really just happen? He's stuck peeling potatoes--wasn't he supposed to be actually working or at least watching the chef in action so he could know what'd it be like working for him, this-'

"The peel test right?"

Carl's interrupted by the girl from when he first arrived, who he bumped into.

"Huh?"

"If you do something wrong, it usually happens, but you're new so maybe he sees something in you, I've never seen anyone get one on the first day, anyways --Chef just gives you the peeler or anything that is peel-able, the amount of potatoes for you to pass, is about eight, by the way, I'm Enid, and from hearing Beth talking to you, you're Carl" She smiles before turning around.

Carl looks down at the bag of thirty potatoes, it should be easy and he probably has about three minutes left--but the real question is, what the hell did he do to the chef--he doubts he made an impression by forgetting his slip and coming in late.

Carl rips open the bag and grabs about five potatoes before he begins to peel them in six big stripes, he's quite impressed by the neat outcome and quickness.

"Good job newbie, that's the fastest I've ever seen someone work, and so clean, Chef's definitely gonna like you," Enid smiles while she chops up cilantro in her section.

"Thank you, although he already hates me, I think," Carl still grins back while Enid shoots him a shrug that just says 'what-can-you-do'

"He doesn't like many people,"

Carl continues to peel and when he begins to reach for another potato, he realizes he only has seven left, just as Chef is walking up, Carl realizes the man has a resting bitch face--yet, he still is the most attractive guy he's met, is it appropriate to think about your boss like this.

"Hm, fast--but I did give you an extra minute so, and your technique is a bit messy, I should see improvement in the next weeks Coral," Ron nods at him and walks away, while Enid shoots him a sorrowful look.

His boss was a stone cold asshole.

\--

It's about two weeks into his job working for Chef Anderson, the guy either hasn't warmed up to him (which is impossible because everyone he's spoken to has said the man never liked them or just doesn't acknowledge them) Carl comes to work on time every day and he always greets the chef happily, smile included and yet, he is still forced to either wash the dishes or peel something.

"Hey Carl," Beth pats him on the back as she goes to lean on the counter in front of him.

"Hey, can I ask you a question?" Carl questioned as he continued to peel the onion he was working on.

"Sure,"

"Has Chef Anderson always been, well, like he is now?"

"Mean?"

Carl nods, he's a bit on the edge because Beth and his boss seem like close friends, he's learned that people think of them as being brother and sister, and Beth's the nice sibling that their parents would love, while Ron's the rebel teen that gets grounded every week (at least that's how Enid and another worker named Mikey compared them)

"The thing with Ron is, he doesn't mean to come off as a stoic person--or rude, he just doesn't express his feelings well, it took him a while to open up to me and joke around with me as much as he does. He also has a lot of responsibility to take on, when you're head chef, you need to make sure the orders are perfect, make sure they're cooked perfect, and when we get orders sent in for a party--he needs the dishes to be presentable and make sure there is the exact amount. He has to deal with taking care of us too, if one of us calls out he takes it into his own hands, if he's missing a pair of hands he works extra hard to fill in for them. Some people don't get that, so he's not this emotionless devil, he just has a lot of responsibility, and trust me--he has an eye out for you, you won't be peeling the whole time here," Beth bounces off, flashing a quick grin before going to her area in the kitchen.

Maybe Carl thought his boss was attractive, and maybe when he heard about the responsibility the man has, he begins to fall for the older man.

\--

"I swear the man wants to kill me, like yeah I'd totally fuck him but can he chill with the death stares," Carl huffs to Noah, a laugh behind the words.

"Okay, I've heard you talk about him like that for the past two and a half weeks, but let's be honest here--even if I'm the straightest thing in this house, You would be on the bottom, and maybe the next time you have the opportunity, you can do something to help him out--like I dunno-"

"You would think me being his assistant, I'd be helping him like you say, but he does sometimes stay late for orders for parties sometimes so I could help him--and it offends me that you immediately think I'm a bottom,"

"You're a bottom,"

"Shut up,"

\--

The opportunity comes up a week later.

Carl walks into the kitchen, greeting everyone with his signature smile. He does his routine of hanging his coat up in the tiny closet at the back of the kitchen, where he finds Enid walking out--almost running into her.

"We have a weird way of always either bumping into each other or just about to," Enid laughs as she waits for Carl to hang up his jacket so they can walk out together.

"Nah, I'm just a clumsy shit," Carl states with a grin.

"I'm actually dreading going in there today--Apparently we got a big order last night, and Chef is not too happy with the short amount of time he has to prepare everything, so now Mr. Hotstuff is in a grumpy mood," Enid frowns as she grips her hair dramatically "He's so hot, but the biggest brat,"

Carl has to resist from punching  her angrily, but he also wants to punch himself because he shouldn't be this protective over someone who probably hates him.

"I hear he has a lot on his shoulders, so maybe we should cut him some slack ya know?" Carl mumbles while they began to walk out.

"Don't tell me you have a thing for the boss," Enid sighs dramatically, placing a hand on her forehead.

"No, I'm not gay," Carl avoids eye contact quickly as she tries to meet his gaze.

"Carl, you're honestly straighter than a circle, Even me, with the worst gaydar in the world. noticed it the first day I met you, and I also did some internet stalking and found out about your two ex-boyfriends,"

"Enid!"

-

It's just about closing time and since Carl is Ron's assistant he usually has to stay until Ron dismisses him--strangely, Ron told him to leave three hours early today, a day with a big order that Ron has to complete by tomorrow night.

"Carl, you can go now," Ron huffs at him as he rolls his eyes at the boy while walking by, cleaning off the counter he's about to use that has smeared food all over it.

"I know I can--I'm choosing not to, I'm going to help you as your assistant," Carl grins as he begins to help Chef Ron scrub at the counter with a sponge.

In all honesty, Carl is not one to flirt--he just can't, it wasn't one of his specialties, in fact--he found it to be nearly impossible. Yet, here he was, feeling an urge to give some sort of flirtatious statement to his boss--his attractive, young, and talented boss, and now he's trying to figure out if it was a good idea staying with just Ron.

"You're not much of a quitter are you, Grimes?" Ron questions while drying the counter off, passing the dry washcloth to Carl.

"Well you know what they say about quitters,"

Carl doesn't know whether he wants to cry or laugh at his stupidity. He doesn't expect to hear a small snort and looks at Ron to see a small smile forming on the usually stoic man.

"I don't know why I said that, oh my-"

"It's fine Carl, although, that was pretty cringe worthy," Ron states a smile still on his face while he looks over at Carl who now has a blush on his cheeks.

"But, hilarious none the less," 

And maybe Carl's mind is playing a trick on him because it's like 1:30 in the morning but he swears he feels Ron's eyes lingering on him, a glint in his eyes that pratically shown in adoration.

\--

Carl is in the middle of whisking the ingredients for the cheese soufflés Ron had to make, when the chef who was also busy seasoning pork loins that would need to marinate over night, questions him after silence had taken over the kitchen's atmosphere.

"So, what brought you into the cooking industry? Like what made you say, this is it, I know what I want to do with my life," Ron asked glancing at Carl quickly.

"To be honest, I have no clue, nothing really worked out for me except cooking, My life's not really interesting, I don't have this inspirational story to tell about how cooking changed my life so, what about you?" Carl looked to his right as Ron continued to season the meat.

"Well, when I was younger, I didn't have the best childhood--I was either bullied at school for being too different, or bullied at home by my father for just breathing, and this one time--after I had came home from school, I turned on the TV and I just remember this show called Good Eats, ya know with Alton Brown? He was making potatoe chips, something so simple but I was ten years old and it fascinated me, it at least distracted me from the horrors of reality--So that night I tried to make it, I failed of course but I didn't quit because it was fun and cooking basically became this daily enjoyment for me. In a way, It helps that I had a crappy childhood," 

Carl stares at the chef who's talking about his life with no emotion clear in his voice, but his eyes shine while he shares his story as if just remembering the memory is a nostalgic moment, even though his childhood seemed dreadful. 

"Well, now you're a real chef in a kitchen, that feels good right?" Carl questioned turning around to the soufflé pans that were sitting on the oven.  

Ron never dates anyone who he works with, especially someone who works under him because it'd lead to multiple problems, yet, here he was, thinking about grabbing the smaller boy and pressing the pretty, plump lips against his. Carl was this talented, smart and kind guy, and yeah, this was definitely dangerous territory.

"Right," Ron agrees while moving on to the next slabs of meat.

"Chef?" 

"Grimes,"

"Are you happy now?"

Ron doesn't really expect the question to come out so softly and concern-filled, but he also doesn't expect to turn around to find Carl behind him, his back leaning against the stove, gripping the counter behind him, an eyebrow raised in wonder.

"Yes, can I ask you something?" Ron asked placing his knife down and leaning against the counter where he was previously working, facing the curious boy.

"What?"

"You thought I was a total ass at first right?" 

Carl this time laughs, grinning at the chef in front of him.

"Is this a trick question?" Carl awaits for the answer, knowing it'll most likely be yes.

"No, No--I know I probably was so I want to know what you think of me now, like when you look at me as of the past couple of hours you've spent with me--what do you see?" Ron looks at Carl honestly, watching the attractive younger boy bite his lip in thought.

"I see, a handsome, young chef who's maybe a little misunderstood at times but he's only doing his best to be the responsible man he grew up to be." Carl takes a pause as he stares at Ron for another moment, Ron staring back just as intensely, glancing every now and then at the glistening pink lips.

"I see, seriousness, possessiveness, and--sexiness,"

Ron pushes himself off the counter suddenly and grabs Carl's waist, pressing his body closely to his own.

"Kiss me," Carl whispers, his forehead leaning against Ron's.

It doesn't really take much for Ron to comply to Carl's demand because he soon presses an open mouth kiss to Carl's pouty lips, feeling the younger boy pin himself closer, gripping Ron's apron in desire. Carl licks into Ron's mouth gingerly and moans when he feels Ron's hands grip his hips, hoisting his body on top of the stove.

"Fuck, we can't--I'm your boss," Ron pulls away from the kiss but their lips are still close enough that Carl can feel Ron's breath hit his lips with every word.

"Look at me and say we shouldn't do this, and that we can't do this," Carl smiles reassuringly.

"This is so fucking--crazy though," 

"Crazy that I'm your assistant or crazy that you want me?" 

And then they're kissing again, Ron's standing in between Carl's legs which are wrapped around Ron's waist firmly, and Ron's holding Carl's face in his hands so sickeningly sweet it should be giving Carl a cavity.

Ron pulls away slowly, looking into Carl's bright blue eyes in amazement.

"I said your name wrong,"

"What?" Carl's face frowns in confusion and humor.

"The first day, I purposely said your name wrong--just to get you a little riled up," 

Carl looks in shock before he begins to laugh at the chef who looks as if he was awaiting the laugh.

"Asshole,"

"Well, me being an asshole has paid off,"

They're not really sure where they're gonna go from here but for now they'll continue to be Carl and Ron. Chef assistant and Chef. 

 

 

 


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Oh how Carl loves the way Ron talks. He loves the way Ron cooks. He loves the way Ron walks. Mostly, he loves the way Ron loves. 
> 
> Or when two people are in love without even knowing it yet.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In which Carl and Ron express how much they love each other but in different ways.

Carl never really thought he'd enjoy the thrill of sneaking around. He likes the rush of excitement when Ron pulls him in the freezer room in the back of the kitchen and presses him against one of the cold racks holding the frozen meat, while nipping at his lips and chin before whispering filthy words and departing in less than three minutes. 

They've been doing this for two weeks now, sneaking off together during work hours, or giving each other more eye contact than needed. Carl stopped peeling potatoes a week ago, Ron doesn't believe in special treatment so he tries to treat Carl like the other cooks--it's kind of difficult keeping that rule when he remembers that the boy gets on his knees and sucks him off like a pro.

It's a Wednesday afternoon and the restuarant was at a moderate capacity of people becuase everyone was at work or school. That also meant, more workers liked to call out leaving the kitchen with less people than usual and more rushing about.

"Carl, could you get to work on cutting up five carrots, and once you're done--please boil them, after that begin cleaning the salmon from the freezer," Ron asked as he rushed to the other side giving orders to other workers.

Carl nods and scurries to his section of the kitchen, along the way, grabbing the bin of carrots and once he's at his station he takes out five large carrots before rinsing them under cold water and placing them on his chopping board. He still hasn't moved on to more complicated things that he wishes he was allowed to do but he's happy for whatever he gets to do.

"A couple of workers and I are going to this bar later on, you want to come?" Enid questions as she looks up from her station where she was whisking ingredients for a seasoning.

"Uh, not sure--I'll let you know before the night ends though," Carl smiles as he finishes chopping two carrots.

"Oh Carl, always the I'd-rather-be-meme-surfing type," Enid laughs, while turning around to pour the ingredients into a large mixing bowl.

"Memes are life, I don't know what's wrong with you," Carl shakes his head jokingly as he finishes off the rest of the carrots.

"You're a meme yourself, how can one have so much love for oneself?" Enid questions, receiving a playful glare from Carl.

"Whatever, I'll be a meme, you'll just be boring ol' Enid--though I will admit, your name isn't boring, It's actually unique as hell and I love it," Carl states with a fake painful look on his face as if it pains him to compliment her.

"Thanks Carly boy, I can't say the same about your name," Enid grins as Carl flips off her and chuckles as he dumps the cut up carrots into a glass bowl, beginning to walk over to the pots that are ready to boil.

"I take back what I said, you're so mean to me," Carl rolls his eyes playfully at Enid as he dumps the carrots in a bowl and begins to walk towards the boiling station in the kitchen.

"Aw, why do you have to be like that? Would you act like that towards your boytoy?" Carl can hear the repressed laugh in her voice as he turns around and smirks.

The thing is though, Carl was taught on his first day to yell 'behind' in case of any accidents, and so far, there hasn't been any accidents in the five weeks Carl's been there. And here Carl is, covered in cream corn and looking down at his freshly cut carrots on the floor.

"What the fuck, Carl?" 

Carl hasn't really talked to this worker before, his name is Darius and he's only really said 'hi' and that was one time when Carl had got to work an hour early, still, Carl can still hear the anger in the guy's voice.

"I am so sorry, oh my god, I'll clean it all up--I promise," Carl promises, flustered.

"And you can also explain this to Chef, he's coming now," Darius nods behind Carl.

When Carl meets Ron's eyes, he kinda knows he already fucked up but seeing the scowl on the older man's face makes him regret everything in that moment.

"What the hell happened?" Ron looks between Carl and Darius, as the whole kitchen begins to stare at the commotion and seeing their boss's neck veins practically about to jump out of his skin.

Carl truthfully doesn't want to answer but Ron's face is getting angrier by the second--and the look that Ron is giving Darius, suggest that he thinks it was Darius's fault.

"I didn't yell behind when I was walking behind him and he didn't know I was there, I'm so sorry chef, it won't happen again--I'll clean it up now," Carl begins to bend down.

"It better not, Darius, can you get one of our bus boy please--Carl, go to the stock closet, now," Ron doesn't spare a glance at Carl as he points to the back of the kitchen.

Everyone stares at Carl, and he feels like he's doing the walk of shame at their judgemental stares--he meets eyes with Enid as she mouths 'good luck' and gives him a sorrowful look.

Once he's there, he waits patiently, looking around at the stock of food they have--Carl notices they have way too much risotto rice and no one even orders that.

"Carl," Ron walks in with his arms crossed before he closes the door behind him.

Ron lets out a big sigh as he looks Carl up in down quickly.

"Do you realize how badly I want to kiss you right now?" Ron almost whispers.

"Then do it," Carl says quietly, a laugh in his voice.

Ron shuts him up by pressing his lips to Carl, gripping the smaller boy's waist gently, as Carl presses his body closer to Ron and wrapping his arms around Ron's torso. Carl is the first to pull away, and he presses his thumb to his lips with a smile, the taste of Ron still on them.

"Okay, in all seriousness now, please be more careful--I don't really want to yell at you so just watch where you're going Carl," Ron states as he presses another kiss to Carl's lips before he opened the door and exits the room.

Carl looks down at his shoes, he can feel his mouth begin to spread into a wide smile. 

And yeah maybe the thought of Ron caring for him makes him smile a bit wider.

-

Carl only has an hour left before his shift ends and Carl didn't want to say anything but he swears people can sense there's something going on between his boss and him. Instead of Ron yelling at him and putting him on suspension--he had just made Carl peel for the rest of the day. Enid was actually shocked, she was expecting her friend to be sent home and never to see him for at least two weeks. At least that was what happened two months ago, to Ron's last assistant. 

"Can I ask how you got off so easily?" Enid questioned Carl as he began to clean up his peeling station.

Carl's never really liked confrontation so the suspicion clear in Enid's voice puts him on edge as he nervously answers her question.

"Uh, ya know, It was just cream corn and carrots, we have a huge stock in the back so--anyways, are you still going out to that place after work?" Carl changes the question, hopefully, smoothly.

"I'm actually just gonna head over to Mikey's,but you're welcome to join," Enid smiles as she takes off her apron and folds it on her counter.

The thought of third wheeling(though Enid will never admit it, Carl's pretty sure they're the type of friends that make out and hook up at random times but still claim they're just friends) them just doesn't sound like a good night to him.

"I'd rather be meme-surfing," Carl grins as she sticks her tongue out at him.

"Okay, I'll see you tomorrow then--goodnight Carly boy," Enid shoots him an air kiss and Carl pretends to catch it and dramatically puts his hand over his heart.

"Bye Enid," 

Carl's not sure if people actually realize it or not but Carl always tries to leave the latest, to say goodbye to Ron--tonight though, for a reason Carl's not exactly sure why, he doesn't want to go home alone.

It's only the bus boy and him left in the kitchen, Ron's in the managers office (which Carl just calls Ron's office now, because Ron treats it as his own)most likely and Cark shoots the bus boy a smile as he begins to depart.

"Bye, Kevin--and thank you for cleaning up my mess," Carl had learned from an early age that it's always good to learn every person you meet name's.

"It's no problem, have a good night Carl," Kevin waves a goodbye as Carl turns to leave.

He pauses at the door, trying to decide if he's actually just gonna say a goodbye(less talking and more making out) to Ron and go to his car and drive back to his apartment alone, or if he actually wants to spend his night with Ron.

Ron and Carl haven't actually had sex, Carl's blown him but they haven't hung out a lot outside of work, the time Carl blew him was one day when Carl had went into Ron's office to "talk" and ended up behind the desk on his knees. But the thought of actually hanging out with Ron--the possibility of showing his true feelings, that's what's making Carl's brain go crazy, he's scared of rejection so what if he asks Ron if he wants to go somewhere and the guy says no. That kinda makes Carl's stomach drop. But, that's the worst possibility so 'fuck it' Carl thinks as he pushes through the double doors to exit the kitchen.

When he goes next door to Ron's office he audibly gulps, at least he thinks it can be heard audibly. He knocks softly and waits to hear Ron call out.

Instead he hears the Chef's voice behind him.

"Carl? Are you okay?" The Chef's voice has a hint of concern and that makes Carl blush lightly.

"I-I'm fine--just, uh, you wanna, maybe like go somewhere--y-ya know, if you're not busy," Carl knows he probably looks nervous and idiotic, so if he gets rejected he knows why.

But, the smile that Ron gives him, which is a rare one--it's the smile that makes his eyes crinkle at the ends, and his teeth are showing, pearly and white. It makes Carl smile right back.

"I would love to, where were you thinking?" Ron answers as he puts on his coat.

Carl didn't really notice before but Ron had taken off his chef cap and apron, and he was wearing a fitted black t-shirt and black jeans, and when he put on his jacket, Carl could see the trail of hair leading downwards to Ron's crotch. It's that and the question of where he wants Ron to go with him, that makes him stutter again--he didn't actually know where he wanted to go with Ron.

"I would go anywhere with you Carl, just say a place, just, as long as you're with me okay?" Ron chuckles lightly.

"You wanna just come to my place? just chill," Carl suggests as he relaxes.

"Sure, I'd love to just chill with you,"

\--

Carl had just let Ron follow him back to his apartment, since neither really wanted to leave their cars at work, and he trusts Ron enough to let him see where he lives.

Carl would be lying if he said the whole drive there he was a bit nervous. He hasn't really been alone with Ron and like he said, they haven't had sex and being alone with Ron, he doesn't know how his body will react because the guy is hot as hell and he still wants to be pinned down and-

There's a knock at his window and he sees Ron standing with his hands in his pockets. Carl steps out the car and gives a sheepish smile.

"Are you okay? You knows we don't have to do anything tonight if you don't want--you said we could chill so we can chill okay," Ron reassures.

Carl's never really loved someone other than his close family members so he's not quite sure what the rapid heart beat he's getting means, actually he's quite sure what it means but he hasn't really known Ron that long and love's a strong word. Though he knows one thing--he truly loves how caring the older man is.

"Okay, let's go then, my roommate isn't home right now but he might come in a little later--just letting you know," Carl says as he walks ahead of Ron, going into the building, he nods at their security guard, Eddie.

"Hey Eddie," The old guard smiles and nods at Ron, Ron gives a quick smile back and waves friendly.

"The building had to get a security guard because this old lady named Mrs. Jenkins said she was robbed but everyone says she's losing her mind--she kept changing her story every time, first she said they stole her lamp, then her slippers, no one really believed her but she threatened to sue unless they hired a security guard," Carl explains as he nears the door to his apartment.

"Well, it's always good to have a security guard--plus, what would I do without my clumsy assistant," Ron says as Carl turns around rolling his eyes with a playful glare.

"We're here, welcome to my casa," Carl says while pushing the door open, the good thing about him and Noah, is that they kept the house cleaned most of the time--though Carl was a bit more neat, And decorated fantastically.

"Very nice, it's very homey," Ron gives a genuine smile, and Carl's not sure if it's to make Carl happy or it's his actual opinion, either way he's grateful.

"Yeah, I try to decorate for each holiday or season, and Fall is my favorite--so many nice, neutral colors, anyways, we can go to the living room or my room--it's your choice, they both have TV's just saying," Carl states as he sees Ron trying to decide.

"You can choose, It doesn't matter to me," Ron answers while shrugging.

"We can go to my room, when Noah comes he tends to like to invade so at least in my room he won't try to sit with us or something," Carl laughs lightly. 

"And don't worry, I won't try anything, u-unless you want to--I mean-" 

"Carl," Ron stops him, pressing his lips to Carl's, as Carl sighs into the kiss.

"Calm down," Ron says as he pulls away.

Carl grins looking down at his feet. Ron has a way of calming him down and Carl kinda loves it.

\--

 Once they get to Carl's room, Carl turns on the light while he closes the door behind Ron.

"You can take your shoes off, or your jacket, get comfortable," Carl says as he begins to take his shoes and jacket off--Ron doing the same.

Carl sits on his bed nodding at Ron.

"We can watch a movie or something if you want," Carl suggest as Ron sits next to him.

"Doesn't matter," Ron shrugs.

Carl huffs playfully, leaning his back against the headboard.

"Does anything matter to you?" 

"You do," Ron has to turn slightly to look at Carl.

Then they're staring at each other, Carl's not sure if he has a smile or not but he can't help but just notice the tiny beauty mark on Ron's chin--he leans up so his face is closer to Ron, close enough that he can feel Ron's warm breath hit his cheeks.

"That was super gay," Carl whispers letting out a tiny laugh.

"Shut up," Ron huffs with a smile growing on his lips.

Carl is the first to lean in, pressing his lips to the chef's in desire. It's a mixture of mint and the faint taste of something citrus, it has Carl craving more as he places his knees in between Ron's thighs, sitting carefully on the older man.

Ron balances the boy, holding his hips softly, as he deepens the kiss. Carl moans when he feels his growing erection rub against Ron's thigh. Ron can't help but pull Carl closer, until the boy is fully sitting on his lap, Carl's ass pressing against his crotch, which causes him to let out a low groan.

"Hey, Carl do you have--shit!" 

Carl stands up quickly from his previous spot, leaving the two extremely flustered, and hiding their boners.

"Uh, hey Noah--this is Ron, Ron, this is my roommate," Carl gestures to his boss sitting on the bed.

Ron stands up quickly, stepping forward and holding his hand out to Carl's roommate.

Noah shakes it, awkwardly, while glancing at the floor more than looking at Ron, "I've heard a lot about you, Ron," 

Noah smirks as he finally looks up fully and meets Carl's glance who's giving him the most evil glare and mouthing 'I'm gonna kill you' 

"I hope it's good things, It's nice to meet you, Noah," Ron smiles as he turns to Carl.

"Bathroom?" 

"Yeah, out there and to the right," Carl says as Noah points, guiding Ron to the bathroom. 

When Noah looks back at Carl--well if looks could kill, Noah would drop dead in that second.

"Dude, you didn't tell me you were actually banging your boss!" Noah says excitedly.

"We're not banging, but maybe we were about to--if you hadn't burst in, I want to kill you, you do know that right?" Carl sighs plopping down on his bed.

"Yeah, I'm sorry about that--I'll leave you and Ron alone for the rest of the night, I'm gonna go to Patrick's house anyways, so have fun, but be careful," Noah winks as Carl laughs while flipping him off.

"Fuck off, and tell Patrick he still owes me 40 bucks from the last bet we did," Carl states as Noah nods.

"Will do, uh nice to meet you Ron--have a good night," Noah says as Ron begins to walk into the room.

"You too, Bye Noah," 

As Noah departs he shoots Carl one last smirk and waves.

Carl motions for Ron to close the door and once Ron does, he pats the bed lazily.

"We legit just got cockblocked by my roommate, what kinda cliche shit is that?" Carl chuckles as Ron laughs along while he lays against the bed with Carl.

There's a comfortable silence, the only sound really is they're steady breathing and the loud heater in the living room that can be heard even through the closed door.

"I'm hungry, what about you?" Carl questions randomly.

"Yeah, I guess," Ron answers looking at Carl now--loving how the boy's eyelashes shine and fan onto his cheek.

"Good, cook for me then," 

"What?"

"You heard me Chef Ron," Carl laughs as he grabs Ron's hands and pull him up.

"Yup, let's go--you're gonna make us a gourmet meal," Carl states while walking towards the door. 

And as Ron watches the other boy who has a bright smile on his face, he can't help but think 'Gosh, I think I love this kid' 

\--

When they're in the kitchen, Carl waves his hand at all the cabinets "Just look through those and ya know, find whatever," Carl places his hands on his hips as he watches the Chef look through everything--placing different objects on the counter.

"You look hot when you're thinking," Carl blurts out as he opens the fridge and grabs a handful of grapes, the minute he says it, he kinda wants to take it back but hey at least Ron knows the truth.

Ron turns and looks at him with a smug smile, "Thank you, I guess,"  Carl hums as a replacement to the words "No problem" while he rinses the grapes and places them in a bowl.

"So what are you going to cook," Carl questions while he throws a few grapes in his mouth.

"I'm thinking about burgers--you have all the items, except the buns, but looking at your freezer, you have frozen garlic bread, which we'll be using," Ron replies as he takes out the ground turkey meat.

"You can eat meat right? Just making sure, I never really see you eat at work so," Ron asked while he washes his hands.

"I love meat--obviously, because I love your meat, you feel me," Carl smiles at the loud laugh that Ron lets out.

"Carl Grimes, you have a way of saying the most cringe worthy stuff and I love it," Ron dumps the ground turkey in a bowl and grabs a cutting board out of the dish drain.

There's another silence while Carl watches the way Ron's hands move almost majestically as he chops up the onions and green peppers. Carl also watches his face, it's quite adorable, the way he furrows his eyebrows in concentration. And now there's yet another thing Carl adds to the list of things he loves about Ron.

"When you stare at me like that, it almost makes me think you like me," Ron teases as he throws in the chopped up onions and peppers into the meat.

"Where's your seasonings?" 

"Above the oven, the cabinet in the left," Carl says as he pops in another grape.

"You want one?" Carl asked pouting to his bowl of grapes.

"Sure," 

What Ron truly doesn't expect is for Carl to grab a grape and stick his hand out in front of his mouth--an almost challenging look on his face, as he presses the cold green grape to Ron's mouth. Ron opens his mouth and Carl places it gently on his tongue--they never take their eyes off each other and maybe that's what brings up the picture of Carl back on his knees in Ron's office, when Ron was about to come and he had flicked his tongue out, wetting his lip before he bit down softly as a moan vibrated his whole body and Carl will never forget the way Ron tasted.

"If I wasn't so hungry, I'd blow you right now," Carl grins as he puts another grape in his mouth.

Ron lets out a dramatic groan, "Don't worry, another time," and he laughs too, and Carl mentally write 'His laugh' on his list of things he loves about Ron.

\--

Ron's already finished with making the meat into patty shapes, and he's out the garlic bread into the oven--Carl feels like he should've helped with mixing the patties but Ron looked too into it.

"I'll get some plates out," Carl announces as he goes to the cabinet above the sink and takes out two glass plates.

"Okay, by the time the burgers are done cooking, the bread should be done too," Ron says as he places the burgers into the pan that has grease.

"While that cooks, you wanna play a game?" Carl suggest happily.

"Sure,"

"I want to know more about you so, 20 questions--but a twist because I'm too lazy to think of 20 questions, let's just do like 5,"

 

Carl states, while Ron agrees and sits on the stool across from Carl.

"I guess I'll go first then--What's your full name?" Carl questions simply.

"Ronald Alexander Anderson, my turn--I already know your full name from your application so, what was your life like growing up?" 

"Hm, It was pretty mediocre I guess, I grew up in a middle class family, my parents divorced when I was twelve because my mom was a cheater, my baby sister was born that year too--unfortunately she wasn't my dad's--she was actually my dad's best friend's, but she's still my half sister and I love her just as much as I would if she were both my dad and my mom's so yeah, then my dad remarried my amazing step mother Michonne, she's the best-- I absolutely love her, she also has a son, He's the best brother I could ever ask for, anyways yeah--it was pretty cool, my turn, when did you figure out you were gay?"Carl can't help remembering the times when he was younger, and didn't really have a clue about the world.

"I was uh, fourteen, my friend Tyler and I were wrestling or some shit in the basement of his dad's house and somehow I ended up underneath him and we were literally full on making out, I ended up jizzing in my pants just from him humping my leg, after that we stopped talking but I kinda had a feeling I was gay a day before that because I had seen him shirtless and I remember getting a hard on but when we made out and stuff that was kinda the finalization, I realized I was super gay," Ron answers as he walks over to burgers in pan, flipping them once.

"Can we just like answer the same questions, I don't feel like thinking of different questions, so when did you know you were gay?" Ron questions as he sits in the seat, grabbing Carl's seat and moving him closer so their knees are touching now.

"I was actually twelve, well twelve going on thirteen, I know, a lot of shit happened when I was twelve. So I was on the Internet and stuff just clicking on a bunch of random stuff, I came across this porn website, and I just remember how every guy my age was talking about boobs and nothing I gave any fucks about. But as I watched this girl an guy going at it, I was focused on the guy and I remember thinking how freaking hot he was, so after that I developed this crush on this guy named Patrick, who I'm friends with now surprisingly--I thought he was so cute and I remember I had told my step mom that and she was just like 'okay good for you go get him then' but Patrick was hella straight but he still wanted to be my friend so here we are eight years later and he's one of my best friend's. When I came out to him though I remember after he rejected me he was just like 'you know not all guys like guys' and I remember we just laughed for like ten minutes and I was like 'yeah I know that' and a year later I told him I thought he was gay, he took offense to it for like months but he's moved past it now, okay next question, Top or bottom?" Carl questions nonchalantly.

"I love how you just go from this childhood memory to sex position, but since you asked so nicely, I'm a top," Ron chuckles as Carl blushes.

"Bottom, okay, next question, how many sex partners have you had?" Carl questioned, internally afraid that Ron has slept around a lot.

"So basically how many people I've had sex with, uh, maybe like five or six in my entire life so--just know that three of them were girls," Ron answers quickly when he kinda sees Carl's face falter.

"Okay I completely feel like a loser right now, I've only had two, and one was a girl also so," Carl says as he glances at Ron nervously.

"I don't care about how many people you'be had sex with--as long as I'll be one of them," Ron reassures as they both begin to laugh.

"Maybe you'll get lucky," Carl smirks as he stands up and goes to the oven to check on the garlic bread which is feeling the air deliciously.

"I think the bread is done, I'll take it out," Carl grabs an oven mit and pulls the tray out that has four slices of brea, he places it on the oven next to the pan that's cooking the burger which look almost ready.

"Okay so one more question after this one, why do you like me? well if you actually like me," Carl asks nervously as he plays with his fingers, he doesn't think Ron will touch his knee as sincerely as he does.

"I do like you just so you know, I like you a lot--and the reasons I like you are because, you're very optimistic, you're honestly the only person that can make me smile in the morning, you always seem to find a way to find good in things, also the minute I saw how determined you were, I knew you were gonna be a huge part of my life, like I said you honestly are the reason I wake up happy in the morning," Ron has the genuine soft look on his face and it makes Carl's entire body feel warm and his insides flutter and fuck Ron Anderson for making him feel this way.

"Aw, you're making me blush, well the reasons I like you are because you're the biggest grouch but you also have this teddy bear side to you that you don't like to show a lot unless you're around someone you like--I think that's quite adorable, I also love how focused you look when you're cooking, it's like you're in your own bubble and it's absolutely the most beautiful sight to witness, then again, you're beautiful so," Carl responds while Ron stares at him with this content smile--that causes Carl to places short and meaningful kiss onto the pouty pink lips.

"You should check on the burgers," Carl mumbles into the kiss, while Ron reluctantly pulls away.

"Do you want cheese?" Ron questioned as he places the garlic bread onto the glass plates and then the fire down on the burger's pan.

"Yeah, it smells fantastic," Carl compliments as he walks over and watches as Ron begins to place the food onto the plates.

"How do you even make burgers look that beautiful," 

Ron laughs as he shrugs and finishes  the burgers off with a toothpick through the middle.

"You're amazing," Carl looks at the beautiful masterpiece and simple smile Ron has on his face and then Carl's adding yet another thing to his list.

\--

They eat their burgers in the living room, Carl turned the tv on and Ron had excitedly pointed at a show called _eyewitness_  they talked in between chewing and watching the show. Once they're finished Carl lays his feet on Ron's lap, and Ron thinks to himself, he would be okay dying right now, as long as he had Carl next to him.

"We didn't do our last question," Carl says suddenly.

"What?"

"Our 5 questions game," Carl sits up now and sits criss cross, but still facing Ron.

"Okay, then let's go," Ron motions for Carl to go ahead.

"Since it's the last one, you can ask," Carl smiles encouragingly.

Ron thinks for a moment before he finally comes to the final answer, "If you could be anywhere in the world right now, where would you be?" 

And maybe it's the corniest answer in the world but Carl leans his head on Ron's shoulder as he replies with "Right here, with you,"

Ron doesn't respond but when Carl looks up and sees the pearly white teeth smile, he grins again and puts a single a kiss on Ron's shoulder before he lays back down.

Yeah, they definitely love each other, and they both never really believed in love at first sight, but when Ron looks at Carl and Carl looks right back--well, love at first sight definitely exist.

 

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I ended this badly again leave me alone, I suck at endings.  
> So I'm planning to do one more thing with this AU (hint: drug use)

**Author's Note:**

> I ended this terribly.  
> shut up.


End file.
